Race to Compound 37 - Part One
by xselene411x
Summary: Len and Kaito were perfectly happy living together as adopted brothers; at least before a zombie apocalypse strikes right on Len's tenth birthday. After learning that Len is immune to the infection, they now make it their mission to get to the nearest compound as quickly as possible. Will they make it there before the zombies get to them?
1. Chapter 1

The day of my tenth birthday was the day that my life changed forever. And definitely _not_ in a good way. It all started out normally; Kaito, Miku, and I were all going out to celebrate my birthday. It was clear and sunny weather, and the smells were amazing. This year, my birthday happened to fall upon the day of a festival my town holds every year. I can't even begin to describe how happy I was learning that the day of the festival fell on my birthday. Kaito and Miku promised me that they'd let me have fun and do whatever I wanted. I had it all planned out too: first I'd get myself some ice-cream, then I'd play as many games as I could and win lots of prizes, after that came lunch, and finally Miku and Kaito said they had a surprise for me. I was supposed to be my best birthday ever.

It turned out to be the worst.

I skipped along in front of Miku and Kaito, laughing happily, "Hmhm you sure are excited, aren't you Len?" Kaito said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. I turned around so I was walking backwards, "You bet I am! Today is gonna be awesome!" I said, giggling. Miku laughed a bit, "I bet it will be, but you better watch where you're going before you trip." She said, crossing her arms. I laughed and turned around, continuing to skip along. When I saw the bright flags hanging from roofs and street lamps, my eyes grew wide with wonder. There were games, people everywhere, and food stands with amazing smells coming from them. I got so excited that I started bouncing and grabbed Kaito and Miku's hands, dragging them along, "Come on come on! Let's go let's go let's go!" I said happily. The blue haired man laughed, "We're coming, we're coming. Slow down there kiddo." I dragged them all the way to one of the ice-cream stands, and I could hardly contain my excitement as I stood there bouncing on my toes. I got my ice-cream and the day went on pretty normally. Kaito helped me win a stuffed bear, Miku won me a pair of kitty ears, I got to make some new friends- everything was amazing. Until after lunch.

"Alright kiddo, time for your birthday surprise. You ready?" Kaito said, grinning. I nodded, bouncing up and down, "Yeah!" The blue-haired man laughed and ruffled my hair, "Then let's get going!" He said. He took my hand as Miku ran ahead to get the surprise ready. I walked along with him, humming happily. After a moment, I stopped dead in my tracks, staring down an alleyway next to us. There was something there, hobbling clumsily towards us. I stared at it for a while, trying to figure out what exactly it was, until Kaito's voice jarred me out of my thoughts, "Hey, you alright buddy?" I looked up at him and nodded, smiling, "Yeah I'm okay." I said. We continued walking to where a crowd was huddled around a large stage. I thought there was something odd about some of the spectators on the sidelines. I waited with Kaito at the front of the crowd, holding his hand tightly. I suddenly felt very _very_ uneasy. I wanted to go home. Now. I clung to Kaito, and he held me close to him with one arm. He saw them too. Strange people coming out of the alley-ways, looking decayed and rotten. It didn't take long for others to notice to, and I flinched and grabbed Kaito's jacket as I heard the first scream. I don't know how, but I'd managed to get myself separated from the blue-haired man amidst the chaos. I was jostled and pushed around by the swarm of people, calling out, "Kaito! KAITO!" Trying desperately to find the man. Everywhere I turned, I saw at least one of those... Those... Things. They were after people. I froze in my tracks and watched, wide-eyed, as one of them sunk their teeth into the neck of Miku. She screamed, and I watched as the blood pouring from her neck turned from a bright crimson red to a sickening black color. The skin around the wound began to rot, and I trembled as more of them crowded around her. Her screams were too much for me, and I felt the tears roll down my cheeks.

I shouldn't have stopped. I should've been paying attention. It wasn't long before I felt a crusty, dried-out hand grip my arm. I screamed and tried to pull away, kicking at the thing. I couldn't stop it from biting down. It's teeth sunk into my skin, and almost immediately the wound felt like it was burning. The sensation spread throughout my arm, and soon throughout my entire body. I could barely hear my strangled screams of pain through the ringing in my ears. My vision blurred, and I convulsed in pain as the burning sensation grew worse and worse. I grew tired; too tired to move, struggle, or even scream The rest of what happened was all a blur. The thing's teeth separated from my arm, and I saw a bit of a blue blur fighting it off. Kaito. After a moment I felt his arms pick me up. I was exhausted. I could smell smoke and hear muffled screams as Kaito carried me through the streets, looking for a safe place. After a while, my eyes closed and I passed out.

When I woke up I was laying on a makeshift bed, staring at the ceiling of a building of some sort. I was sweating, but the burning I'd felt before passing out was gone. Now I just felt hot. I turned my head slightly and saw Kaito fiddling with a radio. We seemed to be in a small shed. The windows were boarded up and the door was secure, which made me wonder about how long I've been out, "Kaito..." I mumbled. My voice sounded tiny and strained. It was loud enough for Kaito to hear though, and as soon as the sound landed on his ears his head snapped up to look at me. Relief washed over his face and he quickly set the radio down and went to my bedside, "Len... You're okay... Thank God..." He said, smiling a little at me and taking my hand. I squeezed it weakly and murmured, "What happened..?" The man's smile faded and he sighed a little, "You were bitten by one of those... Well I guess it's appropriate to call them zombies. You've been unconscious with a high fever for three days." He said softly. He placed a hand on my forehead. It felt cool against my skin, "You've still got one, but at least it's gone down a bit..." He smiled at me, "I'm so glad you're okay..." I managed a weak smile, which faded quickly as a thought came over me, "Miku...?" The blue-haired man's smile faded and he went silent. He took a deep breath and shook his head. I felt my heart drop. Miku had been like a sister to me. It was too much to bear. I was only ten, this was way too much for me to take in. The tears began to roll down my cheeks. I winced and hiccuped as Kaito carefully picked me up, sat on the bed, and held me while I cried.

I flinched as I heard the radio make noises, sounding like broken sentences of a news reporter. Kaito quickly set me down and picked up the radio, toying with it a bit until we finally got a good signal, "_-virus spreading throughout the country. We are unknowing of how it began, but the results of it are catastrophic as many of you may have seen. The virus is transferred from the bite of one of the infected, more commonly known as zombies due to their dead-like state, and it takes the victim over in less than three hours. The blood of the victim turns jet-black and the skin slowly rots. If you are with anyone that has been bitten, we warn you to get away from them immediately as there does not seem to be a way to reverse the effects." _I frowned at this. If the virus was supposed to be passed by a bite, then why did I seem to be okay? Granted I had a nasty fever, but it's been three days since I was bitten and I wasn't turning into a zombie. Kaito noticed too, and he looked at me with confusion on his face. Why was I unaffected? The blue-haired man turned back to the radio as the reporter went on, "_If there are any survivors out there who are listening to this, please remain calm and stay indoors. Make whatever food and water you have left, and await official instructions. We are trying to clear out whatever large buildings we can to create safe compounds for survivors. We will keep you filled in on whatever information we have."_ I looked at Kaito as he sighed and placed the radio on the ground, "Well that doesn't do us much good..." "Kaito... If the virus spreads from those things biting people... How come I'm fine..?" The blue-haired man looked at me as I asked this, and he was silent for a while before saying, "My guess is that you're immune to it. Which makes you one very important person, Len. You're blood is able to fight off that infection somehow, and that could help us find a way to stop all of this or at least delay it and get it under control. I know it's a lot to put on your shoulders, but there's a lot riding on you. Once those compounds are set up we're going to need to get to one so they can get some sorta antidote or vaccine together." I went silent at this. I was immune. Probably the only one in the area that was. A lot of lives depended on my survival and my getting to one of the compounds. This was way too much for a ten year old boy. I almost started crying with the pressure of it all.

When Kaito saw this he quickly change the subject to something else, "I've got good news and bad news kiddo. The good news is, this shed is secure enough to keep 'em out. The bad news is that we only have enough food and water to last us a week, and it's gonna take a lot longer for them to clear out those compounds." I blinked as I just noticed the pile of food and jug of water in the corner of the shed. Kaito must have grabbed them from somewhere while I was unconscious, "So what you're saying is..?" I mumbled, fearing the answer. He took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose before saying, "We're gonna have to go out there." I clenched my fists around my shirt and shook my head, "I don't want to go out there Kaito..." Kaito smiled and came over to me, sitting next to me on the bed, "It's alright kiddo. There's a shop not far from us with plenty of food and water. I'll go out alone if you don't want to go." I shook y head again and let go of my shirt, wrapping my arms around the man, "Don't leave me here alone..." He wrapped his arms round me and brought me into a tight hug. I snuggled up to him, attempting to bury myself in it, "It's okay bud... It'll be okay..." He murmured gently as he stroked my hair. I clung to him, wishing all of this were just a bad dream.

But it wasn't. Two years ago on the day of my birthday, I got the worst birthday present I've ever gotten. The undead were living among us, and I have something in my blood that could potentially stop the virus, or at least prevent any more victims from being taken by it. Kaito and I waited two years for the nearest compound to be finished. Now it was a race.

A race to compound 37.

**/So I'm writing my first zombie fic :3 I'll try to make it interesting and write it as well as I can. I hope you guys like it!**


	2. Chapter 2

Now, compound 37 technically was _not_ the closest to Kaito and I. On foot, it would take us probably over a year to get there. But the other two compounds that were closer to us had been overrun just weeks after they'd been announced clear. So far 37 was the closest that was still alright. We'd stayed in the town for two years while the compounds were being cleared, and while we waited Kaito taught me how to shoot a gun, use a bow, and fight with a knife. Basically I learned how to defend myself. I stayed in the safe house for the majority of the two years while Kaito went to get us food and water from the stores all around town. The town was enclosed by a wall and there was currently boxes and dumpsters blocking the entrances so no infected could get in or out. That also meant that we would be safe once we got rid of all the infected in the town. Kaito had taken care of most of them, leaving some for me to practice shooting with. The close combat practice was done between me and Kaito since he didn't want me getting close to the infected just yet. A lot of the time I was alone in the safe house by my self, which really was _not_ fun. I was always terrified by the thought of Kaito not coming back, and by the constant fear that the door wouldn't hold. The blue-haired man always came back though, even if he took a long damn time to do so at times. We barely made it, but we survived two years in a living hell. Even if we knew the worst was yet to come.

When it finally came time to leave the safety of the town for good, Kaito and I packed everything we could into our packs. Weapons, water and food (what little we had by then), and I managed to fit my teddy bear and kitty ears that Kaito and Miku had won me two years ago into my bag. We both had a few smoke bombs and regular bombs in our bags, and even with those we still had plenty of room for more water and food. We were going to stop at the last shop with supplies still in it to stock up. We stood in front of the door, Kaito holding a rifle and me holding a small machine gun, ready to go, "Alright, we'll get what we need from the shop then climb over the wall and out. listen carefully Len. This is _not_ going to be like training. It's going to be a _lot_ more dangerous. There will be hordes and probably a lot more of the special zombies outside town. Use your bow to take out most of them, the sound of the gun will only attract them. Be quick and stay close to me at all times. Got it?" Kaito said, looking at me with a stern look on his face. I nodded, "I got it."

"Good." He replied, his expression softening, "There's... One more thing Len." He said, his voice a lot gentler now. He knelt down a so he was eye to eye with me and put his hand on my shoulder, "I want you to promise me that no matter what happens you make it to that compound, alright?" I had a feeling about where this was going, and I really did _not_ want to hear him say it. His expression became somewhat sad as he continued, "I'm not immune like you. If I get bitten-"

"Kaito please don't say that-"

"If I get bitten I want you to shoot me and keep going. Promise me-"

"Kaito I can't!"

"_Promise me Len._" The stern tone returned to his voice as he squeezed my shoulder a bit. I hesitated. I couldn't bear the thought of losing Kaito. But I nodded anyway and mumbled, "I promise..."

"Good.." The blue-haired man stood up straight and ruffled my hair a bit, "Let's head out then." He said, placing his hand on the door handle. I took a deep breath and gripped my machine gun, staring at the door. Kaito turned the knob and opened the door. I already had my gun up and aimed. Except there was nothing to aim at. Kaito placed his hand on my shoulder, "It's alright Kiddo. No need to be tense." I nodded a little and lowered my gun, walking out with the blue-haired man. We stayed alert as we walked on towards the store. We were pretty lucky since it was near the entrance to the town. We were able to get to the store without any disruptions, probably due to the two years of clearing out the town and training, "Alright, grab as much food, water, and other supplies as you can." Kaito said once we'd entered the store. He began stuffing his pack and I did the same, fitting as much as I could. I saw some medicine on the shelves behind the counter and decided to grab whatever wasn't expired, but as I was filling up my bag I yelped and tripped, falling flat on my face. I twisted around quickly and nearly screamed when I saw the infected man. He'd rotted so much that it was only his torso, and half of his face was rotted over completely. He had a hold of my leg, and I kicked at him wildly to try and get free, "Kaito!" I called out, continuing to kick at the infected man. The rotted man pulled himself closer to me and went to bite my leg. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the pain, when suddenly I heard a sickening crack and felt blob like things splatter onto my clothes. The infected's grip on my leg loosed, and I instead felt someone grip my arm and pull me to my feet and into a tight hug. I was breathing heavily, scared out of my mind, "It's okay... It's alright it's dead now..." I listened to Kaito's comforting words and clung to him, feeling his hand stroke my hair gently.

After my shivering calmed down Kaito released me from the hug, and i grabbed the rest of the medicine and stuffed it into my bag. We left the shop and went to the entrance. Kaito looked at the pile of rubble that he'd dragged in front of it to keep infected out, "I'm pretty sure we can climb it... The wall's not that high so it wont be too large of a drop down... I'll go first and help you up, kay?" I nodded and watched as he started climbing up the rubble, following when he gestured for me to. I flinched and froze when I heard a high pitched shriek come from somewhere in the town. Kaito stopped too, waiting a moment and looking around slowly before saying, "Sounded like a Rider... It's not near us..." He held his hand out to me and I took it, pulling myself up the rest of the way with his help. He jumped down onto the other side of the wall and looked around, scouting for any infected. After a moment he turned to me and held out his arms, "It's alright. Jump down, I'll catch you." He said, smiling a little. I hesitated then jumped, Kaito catching me in his arms. He set me on my feet and patted my back, "Alright. No turning back now. Let's get moving while it's still light out."

"Okay." I replied, following him as he walked off through the woods that surrounded the town. I looked around, taking in the area. This was the first time I'd actually been outside of town. Had the circumstances been different, I would've been jumping around excitedly and checking everything out. But in truth I was just scared. Two years of training and living in hell toughened me up quite a bit, but in the end I was just a child. I was scared out of my mind of what was out there. I stayed practically glued to Kaito's side, tense and alert at all times. I'd attached my mini-gun to my pack, holding my bow and an arrow in it's place. I jolted a bit when Kaito suddenly stopped. I looked at him fearfully, only to see a huge grin on his face, "Look there." He said, pointing off into the distance. I looked to where he was pointing and was surprised to see a deer standing broadside to us not that far away, "How long has it been since we've had fresh meat?" Kaito said, "Too long." I replied, notching my arrow into place and slowly going closer to the deer. I kept going until I was at a good range, then drew the string back, aiming behind the shoulder of the deer. I waited a moment, then let the arrow fly. It thudded into the deer and I grinned as it fell over dead. Kaito and I ran over to it, and the blue haired man took out his knife to skin it. I gathered some firewood so we could smoke the meat and save it for later (read about that in a hunting book Kaito found) and we got to work.

"That was so good." I said, smiling as I watched Kaito wrap up the meat we hadn't eaten and put it in his bag, "You can say that again." The blue-haired man said. I was quiet for a moment before tilting my head and asking, "Hey Kaito, what color was your hair before you dyed it blue?" Kaito chuckled a bit, "Why do you ask?"

"Because I'm curious!" He laughed at my response and opened his mouth to say something but stopped suddenly as we heard shrieking and moaning coming closer, "Oh shit..." I mumbled standing up with wide eyes. I should've been prepared for this. Our luck had to run out some time. Kaito grabbed my hand and started to run, dragging me along. We scrambled to get our guns off our packs as we ran. I growled in frustration as I struggled to get the gun off, then just stopped and took the twin pistols out of their holsters. Kaito had his gun in his hands, shooting at the infected that were able to run. I shot at them as well. We ran as fast as we could until the sounds of the horde were far behind us. I slowed to a stop, breathing heavily and wiping my forehead, tired from running. I knew we couldn't stay there for long though, the infected would find us soon. The first shriek we heard was from a tracker. It'd be able to smell us from miles away. The two of us trudged on, too tired to speak, staying on high alert as we went. As it began to grow dark we went faster, knowing that spotting infected would we harder in the dark. The good thing about this though was it meant we were pretty much cloaked from the sight of the infected. It was ten times more scary though. We continued walking in silence until deciding we needed to rest. We climbed up a tree and perched ourselves on one of the high branches. It was a good thing zombies couldn't climb, "First day out in the forest." Kaito said smiling at me, "How do you feel?" I thought about my answer, "Scared." I said after a while. The blue-haired man nodded a little, "Makes sense... Don't worry. It's alright to be scared." He said, squirming a bit to get comfortable, "G'night kiddo." I smiled at him and replied, "G'night big brother."


End file.
